Current Affairs: 30 April 2017

Published on Sunday, April 30, 2017

By insiya yadav

PM Narendra Modi inaugurated International Basava Convention

Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled translated volumes of Vachana, penned by 12th century social reformer Basavanna and other saints in 23 Indian languages, on the social reformer’s birth anniversary.

The Prime Minister will also release the digital version of the work at the first ever celebration of Basava Jayanthi at the national level in New Delhi.

Vachana is a prosaic form well known in the Kannada literature which propagates values of universal brotherhood.

This style of writing was used by Basavanna for spreading social awareness and brings equality in the society in the 12th century.

The 23 Vachana volumes, edited by esteemed literary scholar late M M Kalburgi and translated by more than 200 people, was commissioned by the Bengaluru based Basava Samithi at a cost of 2.5 crore rupees of which, the Karnataka government contributed 1 crore rupees.

India's Forex Reserves Surge by $1.25 Billion: RBI Data

India's foreign exchange (Forex) reserves rose by $1.25 billion as on April 21, 2017 as per the data released by RBI

According to the Reserve Bank of India's weekly statistical supplement, the overall Forex reserves increased to $371.13 billion from $369.88 billion

India's Forex reserves comprise of foreign currency assets (FCAs), gold, special drawing rights (SDRs) and the RBI's position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

India's first book village to come up in Maharashtra's Bhilar

A hamlet in Sataradistrict of Maharashtra, popular for its strawberries is all set to embrace the tag of India's first 'village of books', a concept inspired by Britain's Hay-on-Wye, a Welsh town known for its book stores and literature festivals.

Bhilar village located near picturesque hill station Panchagani will see this state government initiative being inaugurated by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on May 4.

Around 15,000 books (in Marathi) would be made available in the village premises. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will inaugurate the initiative 'pustakanche gaon' on May 4

Also, the state has provided several facilities such as chairs, tables, decorated umbrellas and glass cupboards to local villagers to help them enhance the reading experience of literary connoisseurs visiting there

The event would also be organized at more than 30 other locations through Ganga Vichaar Manch, local NGOs and volunteer support.

The objective of the Ganga Swachhta Sankalp Divas is to spread awareness and evoke active involvement of the masses through Ganga Swachhta Sankalp (Pledge) reiterating their commitment to Swachh Ganga through a series of events like Swachhta sandesh rally, Shram daan, plantation, Swachhta sankalp etc. to develop a sense of pride and ownership among citizens to engender support for Namami Gange programme.